Ferrari is set to enter the new Le Mans Hypercar class of the World Endurance Championship in 2023, which will mark the return of the Prancing Horse to top-level endurance racing for the first time since the 1970s.
But Ferrari isn't going it alone. The automaker's Competizioni GT sports car racing division will partner up with AF Corse for the LMH campaign, with the new team to be known as Ferrari - AF Corse.
Similarly, Porsche has partnered with Team Penske for its own return to top-level endurance racing, albeit in the rival Le Mans Daytona hybrid class.
AF Corse is an independent Italian racing team founded by former racing driver Amato Ferrari (no relation to Enzo Ferrari or his son Piero) in 1995. It's worked closely with Ferrari since 2006, and in recent years has represented Ferrari in GT competition, most notably in the GTE class of the WEC.
Since the WEC's inception in 2012, AF Corse, using various Ferrari GT race cars, has racked up six team and drivers’ titles in the GTE class, five Constructors’ titles for Ferrari, and three class wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the championship's premier event.
Ferrari is currently developing its new LMH race car. Not much is known about the car but there's a good chance it will be twinned with a road-going hypercar that will serve as the successor to the LaFerrari. Recall, Ferrari tends to launch one of its special series models like the LaFerrari and previous Enzo once every decade, and when 2023 rolls around the LaFerrari will be a decade old.
The first race of the new LMH class took place on May 1 at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps. Only Toyota and Alpine competed in the class, with Toyota's new GR010 Hybrid LMH racer winning both the class and overall. America's Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus will join the field for the next round scheduled for June 11 at Portugal's Portimao.
